Chemical Attacks Experts Visiting Sites in Syria Only Way to Ensure Fair Inquiry

© REUTERS / Mohamed AbdullahA U.N. chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria. (File)
A U.N. chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria. (File) - Sputnik International
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WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government continues to oppose any free and fair investigation to find the perpetrators of the chemical attacks against innocent civilians in Syria because it knows they were carried out by rebels funded and armed by Washington, veteran diplomats told Sputnik.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson alleged that the Syrian authorities used chemical weapons on Monday, January 22, against civilians in Eastern Ghouta and also blamed Russia for the attack.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has also blamed Moscow for the alleged chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta.

NEW PROBE VITAL TO EXPOSE REAL AUTHORS OF CHEMICAL ATTACKS IN SYRIA

A new probe should be launched to expose the real perpetrators of the chemical attacks in Syria and hold them accountable, Syria’s ambassador to China and former ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, said on Thursday.

"As long as the responsible party is not identified once and for all, the United States and its allies will continue to use chemical attacks as political means to blackmail Syria and her allies, mainly Russia," Moustapha said.

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An independent, professional, transparent and credible inquiry is still urgently needed to uncover the truth behind the widely criticized and highly dubious testimony that was originally presented to try and blame the Syrian government for the attacks, Moustapha insisted.

"Making [expert] visits to the sites of the attacks obligatory is the only way to get beyond the set scenarios prepared by the ‘White Helmets,’ their pre-fabricated testimonies and their Western advisors," he said.

However, the US government will never allow such a mechanism to be established, Moustapha judged.

"Just as the Islamic State [terror group] has served the long-term interests of the United States in Syria and Iraq, the chemical attacks have been equally advantageous to its political agenda in Syria and against Russia," he said.

The US government has a clear motivation for not wanting to reveal or admit the parties who carried out the chemical attacks, Moustapha explained.

"Determining with absolute certainty the guilty party would deprive the United States of an invaluable political and propaganda asset, which is something Washington will not readily forfeit," he said.

US WANTS TO PROTECT PERPETRATORS OF CHEMICAL ATTACKS

Former US diplomat and ex-adviser to Senate Republican leaders Jim Jatras agreed that that the US wanted to continue blaming the Damascus government for the chemical warfare attacks without acknowledging evidence to the contrary.

"It’s pretty clear why the United States opposes an impartial investigation in the April 2017 chemical attack at Khan Shaykoun (as well as the 2013 Ghouta attack): it would show that the Syrian government was not the responsible party and that the so-called "rebels" (in reality, al-Qaeda) were," he said.

A U.N. chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus, Syria. (File) - Sputnik International
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The US government dared not acknowledge the real facts behind the attacks because they were so embarrassing to Washington, Jatras stated.

"Worse, it would show that the United States is well aware of that and knew it at the time President [Donald] Trump ordered a retaliatory cruise missile on Syria’s Shayrat Airbase," he said.

Revealing and documenting that reality would also expose the lie fed to the American people and the world since September 11, 2001 that the United States was fighting against al-Qaeda and other Salafist terrorists, Jatras continued.

Quite to the contrary, the "Christian-killing jihadists are an asset used by our intelligence agencies as a geopolitical tool" — in Syria for the past almost seven years but before that in Libya, Kosovo, Bosnia, and elsewhere, Jatras concluded.

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